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Chat with Sydney Imbeau and Kiana Madeira of REALLY ME

In celebration of the Family Day Weekend, Family Channel has some specialty marathons of GOOD LUCK CHARLIE, JESSIE and REALLY ME! Sandwiched in the marathon is the season finale of REALLY ME happening tomorrow night, Friday Feb. 18th at 5:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Starring Sydney Imbeau and Kiana Madeira, REALLY ME follows the life of Maddy (Imbeau) and her sudden life change when she becomes the star of a reality show. Balancing boys, school and her family, she’s happy to have a friend like Julia (Madeira) to keep her grounded.

The Mag got the chance to speak with Sydney Imbeau and Kiana Madeira about their characters, filming the show, and what to expect for season two of REALLY ME:

How does your character progress in the second season?
Sydney: My character definitely grew up a lot, she’s a lot more mature and she’s going through more teenager problems: stuff with guys, her best friend; it’s a lot of fun. Season two was amazing to film and I think all of the characters definitely got more complex.
Kiana: I definitely think that my character got a bigger role in season two because like anything, me and Sydney, we got a lot closer than we did in the first season, so I think that sort of helped develop my character more. We also got more comfortable with each other and our jokes just got funnier, the chemistry and everything just got a lot tighter in season two.
S: I think that season one was definitely explaining the concept of the show and just getting all of that started and now with season two, it’s a lot more fun stuff. It’s more about the problems and not just the reality show, it’s really just based on Maddie and Julia’s friendship in season two.

Did you guys ever get to improvise within your script ever?
K: Our writers really like when we improvise and throw in our own little lines here and there, they really like that!

What has been your favourite episode so far?
S: My favourite episode, that’s really difficult! There’s so many! I think it would be one out of season two just because we’re all just so used to each other by then that we just had fun with it. But I don’t think I could possibly pick a favourite.
K: [In] season two, the episodes I think got so much crazier compared to season one. We got to dress up a lot more and there was a lot more physical comedy that I really liked, so probably the later episodes in season two, those ones are my favourite for sure.

Have there been any ridiculous moments that have happened on set?
S: Yes! I don’t want to give away too much but there is a cake to the face in season two. I’m going to tell you that and that was probably my favourite moment.

In what ways would you say that you’re like Maddy?
S: I’m actually very similar to Maddie because she’s nothing ridiculous. She’s not a pop star or something crazy, she’s just a normal teenage girl that got this opportunity to have a show, which is exactly the same as me! I’m so lucky to have this show that I’m filming and she goes through the same stuff like the drama with friends, then boys, then school, then crazy family and all of that.

If the show were to go into season three, what’s something you’d love to see your character get to do?
K: In season two compared to season one, I noticed that we were growing up in the show as well, so we had more situations with boys at school and I think a lot of situations that girls can relate to in real life. So for season three, I’m excited just for her to grow even more. Maybe possibly Sydney, or Maddie, will have a relationship or Julia will, or something even more will happen in that way.

While you were on break in between season one and two, did you find it was hard to get back into the swing of filming the show?
S: It was actually incredibly easy. I think it was easier to go back to season two and get right back into it because we only had a few months in between so basically I went to school, had summer break, then I was right back so I think it was easy.

What did you do on your break in between the seasons?
K: It was a lot of waiting because they weren’t quite sure if we even got a season two, so I didn’t really know what would come next. I was auditioning for other things and taking acting classes, working part time, but mostly it was a lot of anticipation because we really wanted a second season so we were waiting for that.

If you weren’t acting what do you think you’d be doing?
S: If I wasn’t acting, I honestly have no idea what I’d be doing! I started this so young and it’s kind of just been my plan for six years now and I’ve been working at it so hard. I did do dance before and I think I would have definitely continued with that.
K: I would definitely be doing something working with kids. Kids make me so happy! They’re just so cute and I have a younger sister so I really like spending time with kids other than acting.

Are there any other projects that you’re working on apart from the show?
S: I’m not working on anything, I’m kind of just taking a break and relaxing, I’m focusing on my school work right now and of course there’s auditions and stuff going on.
K: I don’t, at the moment! I haven’t been auditioning very much lately but I’ve been taking classes and I’m enrolling in school for acting as well in university, so hopefully more projects will come.